IIIN vs LUD vs TS Stock Comparison

Insteel Industries, Luda Technology and Tenaris Prices as of Nov 3, 2026 Peers: Industry group
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IIIN Insteel Industries Inc
$28.55 -3.3% 1M -8.5% 1Y
Market cap
$562.34M
P/E
19.0x
Revenue (TTM)
$739.51M
Div. yield
0.04%
Metal Fabrication Industrials
3 wins
TS Tenaris Sa
$57.58 +2.8% 1M +41.4% 1Y
Market cap
$58.93B
P/E
30.8x
Revenue (TTM)
$12.04B
Div. yield
–
Metal Fabrication Industrials
6 wins

Head to Head

9 decided of 12

Tenaris leads on 6 of the 12 questions below (Tenaris 6, Insteel Industries 3). Which ones matter depends on what you are buying for; a cheap multiple and slow growth often come together.

QuestionIIINLUDTSLeader
Larger companyMarket capitalisation $562.34M $87.19M $58.93B TS
Cheaper on earningsLower P/E, profitable companies only 19.0x — 30.8x IIIN
Cheaper on forward earningsLower price / next fiscal year consensus EPS 13.9x — 14.5x IIIN
Faster revenue growthRevenue growth, trailing twelve months +14.2% — +2.3% IIIN
More profitableNet margin, trailing twelve months 4.0% — 15.9% TS
Better return on capitalReturn on invested capital — — 12.7% –
Less leveragedLower net debt / EBITDA — — -3.1x –
Higher dividend yieldTrailing dividend yield 0.04% 0.00% 0.00% –
Better 1-year returnPrice return, last 12 months -8.5% -48.1% +41.4% TS
Better 5-year returnAnnualised price return, 5 years -7.1%/yr — +19.2%/yr TS
Less volatileAnnualised volatility, 1 year 41.5% 144.1% 28.9% TS
Higher overall scoreMean of the five percentile scores vs peers 57/100 — 58/100 TS

Percentile Scorecard

IIINLUDTS

Each axis is the mean percentile of its metrics against the company's industry group. 100 is the best in the group, 50 the middle.

Scores by Axis

AxisIIINLUDTS
Valuation 91 #19 of 204 – 45 #112 of 204
Growth 32 #130 of 191 – 16 #160 of 191
Profitability 45 #104 of 189 – 79 #40 of 189
Financial Health 89 #26 of 221 39 #135 of 221 99 #4 of 221
Shareholder Returns 27 #116 of 158 – 52 #76 of 158
Overall 57 – 58
  • IIIN ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • LUD ranked among 223 companies in Machinery
  • TS ranked among 223 companies in Machinery

Price Performance

Price return, split-adjusted, before dividends. Click a name to hide or show it.

Returns

PeriodIIINLUDTSSPY
1 month -3.3%+7.9%+2.8% -2.0%
3 months -13.5%-0.2%-0.7% -2.2%
6 months +7.8%-30.2%-9.3% +4.2%
Year to date -9.9%-35.8%+49.8% +10.6%
1 year -8.5%-48.1%+41.4% +10.4%
3 years -4.1%—+65.4% +73.6%
3 years, per year -1.4%—+18.3% +20.2%
5 years -30.8%—+140.0% +61.6%
5 years, per year -7.1%—+19.2% +10.1%
10 years +7.0%—+107.4% +261.3%
10 years, per year +0.7%—+7.6% +13.7%

Risk

MeasureIIINLUDTSSPY
Volatility, 1Y 41.5%144.1%28.9% 12.8%
Downside volatility, 1Y 51.2%141.8%29.9% 12.8%
Beta vs S&P 500, 1Y 0.981.210.38 1.00
Return / volatility, 1Y -0.20-0.331.43 0.81
Max drawdown, 5Y -49.9%-83.8%-33.7% -25.4%
From 52-week high -25.1%-65.2%-10.1% -3.2%
52-week high $38.11$11.85$64.02 $779.14
52-week low $24.48$3.20$37.76 $631.97

Valuation History

Weekly multiples on trailing twelve-month fundamentals. Negative or extreme readings (a loss year, a collapsed denominator) are left out so the chart stays readable.

MultipleIIINLUDTS
P/E now vs peer median 18.8xmedian 25.4x —median 25.4x 31.8xmedian 25.4x
P/S now vs peer median 0.7xmedian 1.9x —median 1.9x 5.1xmedian 1.9x
EV/EBITDA now vs peer median 9.3xmedian 14.5x —median 14.5x 18.6xmedian 14.5x
P/FCF now vs peer median 22.3xmedian 23.6x —median 23.6x 22.2xmedian 23.6x
P/B now vs peer median 1.5xmedian 2.2x 4.8xmedian 2.2x 3.6xmedian 2.2x
PEG now vs peer median -6.33median 1.21 —median 1.21 —median 1.21

Financial History

Reported figures by fiscal period, placed on the calendar year (or quarter) each period ended in, so companies with different fiscal years line up.

Trailing twelve monthsIIINLUDTS
Revenue $739.51M – $12.04B
Gross profit $75.68M – $4.08B
Operating income $37.57M – $2.23B
Net income $29.55M – $1.97B
Free cash flow $24.84M – $2.78B
EPS (diluted) $1.51 – –
Cash & equivalents $37.48M $6.60M $9.02B
Total debt – $13.16M $301.89M
Shares (diluted) 19.52M 22.24M –
Enterprise value $471.23M $35.79M $30.38B

All Metrics

58 metrics · best in bold

Bold marks the best reading: the lowest positive value for multiples, leverage and payout, the highest for everything else. The bar under each value is its percentile against that company's own peers. Hover a value for its rank and the peer median.

Valuation

12 metrics
MetricIIINLUDTS
P/E 18.8x – 31.8x
P/FCF 22.3x – 22.2x
P/Operating cash flow 15.1x – 27.5x
P/S 0.7x – 5.1x
P/B 1.5x 4.8x 3.6x
P/Tangible book 1.5x 5.0x 3.6x
EV/EBITDA 9.3x – 18.6x
EV/EBIT 13.7x – 23.8x
EV/Revenue 0.7x – 4.4x
EV/FCF 20.7x – 19.0x
EV/Operating cash flow 14.1x – 23.7x
PEG (3Y EPS CAGR) -6.33 – –

Growth

14 metrics
MetricIIINLUDTS
Revenue growth (1Y) 14.2% – 2.3%
Revenue CAGR (3Y) 4.4% – -6.7%
Gross profit growth (1Y) -19.0% – 2.7%
Gross profit CAGR (3Y) 5.0% – -13.9%
Operating income growth (1Y) -27.9% – 0.0%
Operating income CAGR (3Y) 2.7% – -20.6%
Net income growth (1Y) -28.0% – -3.3%
Net income CAGR (3Y) -3.0% – -18.8%
EPS growth (1Y) -27.8% – –
EPS CAGR (3Y) -3.0% – –
Operating cash flow growth (1Y) 34.8% – -11.7%
Operating cash flow CAGR (3Y) -36.4% – -9.6%
Free cash flow growth (1Y) 31.1% – -13.2%
Free cash flow CAGR (3Y) -39.4% – -7.8%

Profitability

14 metrics
MetricIIINLUDTS
Gross margin 10.2% – 33.9%
EBITDA margin 7.5% – 23.7%
Operating margin 5.1% – 18.5%
Pretax margin 5.2% – 20.5%
Net margin 4.0% – 15.9%
FCF margin 3.4% – 23.1%
Operating cash flow margin 5.0% – 18.6%
Return on equity 7.9% – 11.4%
Return on assets 6.2% – 9.7%
Return on invested capital – – 12.7%
Return on capital employed 9.4% – 11.0%
Asset turnover 1.5x – 0.6x
Cash conversion (OCF / net income) 1.2x – 1.1x
Stock comp / revenue 0.5% – –

Financial Health

11 metrics
MetricIIINLUDTS
Debt / assets – 30.6% 1.5%
Debt / equity – 0.7x 0.0x
Net debt / EBITDA – – -3.1x
Debt / FCF – – 0.1x
Liabilities / assets 21.0% 55.1% 15.2%
Equity / assets 79.0% 44.9% 84.8%
Interest coverage 596.3x – 45.4x
Current ratio 3.7x 1.6x –
Quick ratio 1.6x 1.3x 70.8x
Cash ratio 0.5x 0.7x 58.2x
Altman Z-score 6.39 – –

Shareholder Returns

7 metrics
MetricIIINLUDTS
Dividend yield 3.9% – 3.1%
Net buyback yield 0.6% – -1.6%
Shareholder yield 4.5% – 1.5%
Payout ratio (earnings) 73.5% – –
Payout ratio (FCF) 87.5% – –
Dividend growth (1Y) -0.2% – –
Dividend CAGR (3Y) -19.2% – –

Analyst Estimates

Solid lines are reported fiscal-year results; dashed lines are the consensus for the years ahead. Hover a year for the analysts' high and low, and how each result compared with its estimate.

ConsensusIIINLUDTS
Forward P/E 13.9xFY2027 – 14.5xFY2026
EPS, next fiscal year $2.05FY2027 – $3.97FY2026
EPS growth, next FY +35.8%FY2027 – +8.5%FY2026
EPS growth, the year after +7.8% – +1.5%
Revenue, next fiscal year $759.46MFY2027 – $12.99BFY2026
Revenue growth, next FY +2.7%FY2027 – +8.4%FY2026
Revenue growth, the year after +4.4% – -6.1%

Institutional Ownership

13F filings, quarter ended Jun 30, 2026
HoldersIIINLUDTS
Held by institutions 82.1% – 3.6%
Institutions holding 187 – 285
Change in shares held, QoQ +0.9% – -2.4%
Institutions buying 122 – 154
Institutions selling 48 – 80
Buyers to sellers 2.54 – 1.93

Return Correlation

Daily returns, last 12 months

1.00 means two stocks move in lockstep, 0 that they move independently. Pairs below about 0.5 diversify each other.

IIINLUDTS
IIIN 1.00 0.13 0.08
LUD 0.13 1.00 -0.01
TS 0.08 -0.01 1.00

Add a Peer

Largest companies in the same industry

Related Comparisons

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is bigger, IIIN, LUD and TS?

Tenaris (TS) is the largest by market capitalisation: Insteel Industries (IIIN) $562.34M, Luda Technology (LUD) $87.19M, Tenaris (TS) $58.93B.

Which stock is cheaper, IIIN, LUD and TS?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) trades on the lowest price-to-earnings ratio (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 19.0x, Tenaris (TS) 30.8x). On next year's consensus earnings, Insteel Industries (IIIN) is cheapest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 13.9x, Tenaris (TS) 14.5x). A lower multiple can reflect slower expected growth, so read it next to the growth figures.

Which company is growing faster?

Insteel Industries (IIIN) grew revenue fastest over the trailing twelve months: Insteel Industries (IIIN) +14.2%, Tenaris (TS) +2.3%.

Which company is more profitable?

Tenaris (TS) has the highest net margin (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 4.0%, Tenaris (TS) 15.9%).

Which stock has performed better?

Over the past year Tenaris (TS) returned the most: Insteel Industries (IIIN) -8.5%, Luda Technology (LUD) -48.1%, Tenaris (TS) +41.4%. Over five years, Tenaris (TS) compounded fastest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) -7.1%/yr, Tenaris (TS) +19.2%/yr). Returns are price only, before dividends.

Which pays a higher dividend?

Only one of these companies pays a dividend: Insteel Industries (IIIN) 0.04%, Luda Technology (LUD) 0.00%, Tenaris (TS) 0.00%. Luda Technology (LUD) and Tenaris (TS) pays no regular dividend.

Which stock is riskier?

By one-year price volatility, Tenaris (TS) has been the steadiest (Insteel Industries (IIIN) 41.5%, Luda Technology (LUD) 144.1%, Tenaris (TS) 28.9%). Volatility measures how widely the price swings, not the risk of the business.

Which is the better stock, IIIN, LUD and TS?

There is no single answer; it depends on what you are buying for. On the 12 head-to-head measures on this page, Tenaris (TS) leads on 6. Business Quant does not give investment advice; use the comparison as a starting point for your own research.

Data from SEC filings, exchange prices and consensus estimates, via Business Quant. Percentile scores compare each company with its own peer group, so two companies' scores are each relative to different peers unless you rank against the whole market. Price returns exclude dividends. Nothing on this page is investment advice.